Characterization and Modeling of Two-Port Wideband Resistance Calibration Standards

We report a single broadband on-wafer resistance calibration standard fabricated with a 15-nm-thick gold resistor on an alumina substrate. Because the resistor film is much smaller than the skin depth at microwave frequencies, this proposed standard demonstrates excellent stability over both frequency and temperature when compared to traditional calibration resistors. A variety of resistors were fabricated, demonstrating resistances of 41-167 Omega in the frequency range of 10 MHz to 30 GHz. This resistance standard exhibits less than 2 K of heating when tested with 0 dBm of applied power and shows less than 0.2-dB difference in its resistance response across the measured frequency band. This work presents a significant step toward establishing the traceability of resistance standards over a wide frequency range.